The present invention relates to controlled release unit dose formulations containing an antihyperglycemic drug. More specifically, the present invention relates to an oral dosage form comprising a biguanide such as metformin or buformin or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof such as metformin hydrochloride or the metformin salts described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,957,853 and 4,080,472 which are incorporated herein by reference.
In the prior art, many techniques have been used to provide controlled and extended-release pharmaceutical dosage forms in order to maintain therapeutic serum levels of medicaments and to minimize the effects of missed doses of drugs caused by a lack of patient compliance.
In the prior art are extended release tablets which have an osmotically active drug core surrounded by a semipermeable membrane. These tablets function by allowing a fluid such as gastric or intestinal fluid to permeate the coating membrane and dissolve the active ingredient so it can be released through a passageway in the coating membrane or if the active ingredient is insoluble in the permeating fluid, pushed through the passageway by an expanding agent such as a hydrogel. Some representative examples of these osmotic tablet systems can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,845,770, 3,916,899, 4,034,758, 4,077,407 and 4,783,337. U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,741 teaches an osmotic device wherein the active agent is released from a core surrounded by a semipermeable membrane only after sufficient pressure has developed within the membrane to burst or rupture the membrane at a weak portion of the membrane.
The basic osmotic device described in the above cited patents have been refined over time in an effort to provide greater control of the release of the active ingredient. For example U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,777,049 and 4,851,229 describe an osmotic dosage form comprising a semipermeable wall surrounding a core. The core contains an active ingredient and a modulating agent wherein the modulating agent causes the active ingredient to be released through a passageway in the semipermeable membrane in a pulsed manner. Further refinements have included modifications to the semipermeable membrane surrounding the active core such as varying the proportions of the components that form the membrane, i.e U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,178,867, 4,587,117 and 4,522,625 or increasing the number of coatings surrounding the active core, i.e U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,650,170 and 4,892,739.
Although vast amounts of research has been performed on controlled or sustained release compositions and in particular on osmotic dosage forms, very little research has been performed in the area of controlled or sustained release compositions that employ antihyperglycemic drugs.
The limited work on controlled or sustained release formulations that employ antihyperglycemic drugs such as metformin hydrochloride has been limited to the combination of the antihyperglycemic drug and an expanding or gelling agent to control the release of the drug from the dosage form. This limited research is exemplified by the teachings of WO 96/08243 and by the GLUCOPHAGE.RTM. product which is a commercially available product from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. containing metformin HCl.
It is reported in the 50th Edition of the Physicians Desk Reference, copyright 1996, p. 753, that food decreases the extent and slightly delays the absorption of metformin delivered by the GLUCOPHAGE.RTM. dosage form. This decrease is shown by approximately a 40% lower peak concentration and a 25% lower AUC in plasma and a 35 minute prolongation of time to peak plasma concentration following administration of a single GLUCOPHAGE.RTM. tablet containing 850 mg of metformin HCl with food compared to the similar tablet administered under fasting conditions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a controlled or sustained release formulation for an antihyperglycemic drug wherein the bioavailability of the drug is not decreased by the presence of food.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a controlled or sustained release formulation for an antihyperglycemic drug that does not employ an expanding polymer.
It is also a further object of the present invention to provide a controlled or sustained release formulation for an antihyperglycemic drug that can provide continuous and non-pulsating therapeutic levels of an antihyperglycemic drug to an animal or human in need of such treatment over a twelve hour to twenty-four hour period.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a controlled or sustained release formulation for an antihyperglycemic drug that obtains peak plasma levels approximately 8-12 hours after administration.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a controlled or sustained release pharmaceutical tablet having only a homogeneous osmotic core wherein the osmotic core component may be made using ordinary tablet compression techniques.